Vito’s and the Sovereignty of God

It’s so amazing how a photo of Vito’s Restaurant, where my parents used to take me in our home town, sparks so many precious memories. My beloved Daddy, Eston Willis, loved Vito. When Daddy came home from WWII, he received a letter written in Italian, from the Italian family he stayed with in Italy while he was recovering from his shrapnel wounds he received while fighting the Germans on Anzio Beachhead. He took the letter to Vito, and he translated it for Daddy and helped him write a letter in response to the Italian family who had been so kind to him. I also found a photo of my mom and dad, Eston and Frances Willis, taken in 1945 when Daddy returned from WWII, met my mom in July at church, they were engaged in October 1945, and married on December 29, 1945. We would always go to Vito’s and order the spaghetti and pizza to go. The spaghetti was in a tall round cardboard cylinder-shaped container and the Parmesan cheese was in a small wax paper bag. So delicious.

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From 1945, to the 1960’s, then suddenly in August of 2001, Vito’s was the location for another life-changing, destiny moment. Our daughter, Tracy, met my husband, Jack, and I at Vito’s for lunch one day. She was working for Publix while commuting to college at USF in Tampa. She was frustrated with the commute, and had decided to drop out. Suddenly, I said, “Why don’t we drive over to Florida Southern and see what they say?” Miraculously, when we arrived at the admissions office at lunchtime, the director of admissions warmly welcomed us, and after talking to Tracy for a few minutes, he arranged all the financial aid needed for Tracy to enroll that very day, for that very semester! It was a life-defining moment, because two years later, when she graduated, it was a friend she knew from Florida Southern who told her about a job opportunity at Auto-Owners Insurance. Tracy has worked for Auto-Owners for over 21 years, and was recently promoted to the position of Regional Vice President. Truly, a God-orchestrated connect-the-dots example of the sovereignty of God.

All these memories just draw my heart once again to the amazing Sovereignty of God. The Scripture verse Esther 4:14 sprang to my heart, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” As I pondered this awesome Truth, I remembered this quote from a Bible Study on Esther, which really resonated with me: “You cannot amputate your history from your destiny, because that is redemption.” As I meditated on this quote, I was thinking about how many times we wished our past, our history, our background was different; yet we believe that God is all-powerful and all-knowing, we believe that He knows our past and our future, and His providence allows our past to be part of our destiny.

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There are parts of our past that we prefer to stay hidden; but God wants to use all of it in His plan to bring restoration and healing to others. We can allow God’s redemption, forgiveness, and grace to give us a future and a hope, because He has amazing plans for us.

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Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

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No matter what our past holds, we can’t change it, but God can and will use it. Our history is what God uses to create our destiny. Our history—the good and the bad—was and is in the hands of a Sovereign God who loves us and has a wonderful plan, hope, and future for each of us.

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We see how God took Esther, a young girl who had suffered the loss of both parents, and brought forth her glorious destiny. Such a tragic story, yet God used her past to make her into what He wanted her to be. He used her past to bring about the purpose He had for her life. 

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From 1 Corinthians 1:26-31: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” 

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God does not comfort us to make us comfortable. He comforts us to make us comforters. We can take whatever difficult things that have happened to us and use them to help someone else who may be going through the same thing. Our experiences and difficult times can either make us bitter or better. How much more abundant our lives will be if we allow them to make us better.

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Genesis 50:20 proclaims, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

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Romans 8:28, the Genesis 50:20 of the New Testament, declares, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”

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Like Esther, we’re overshadowed, underrated, overwrought, under qualified, under attack, overanxious, and over responsible! Our trust in God reverses the detours of adversity into the highways of destiny. Have you ever compared the front and back of a tapestry? The front of a tapestry is art. In the hands of a skilled weaver it displays incredible artistry and fine detail. The world’s best art museums collect the world’s best tapestries and display them there as examples of a rare but beautiful form of art. The back of a tapestry is a mess. A tapestry is made by weaving together different-colored threads, and the images and designs are created by the interplay between the different colors and textures. What is clear on the front is opaque on the back. The back shows something of the image, but it looks more like a child’s attempt than a master’s: it lacks nuance and clarity and detail. Where the front is smooth, the back is covered in knots and loose ends. We are meant to see and admire the front of the tapestry, not the back, and this has often served as an illustration of the truths of Romans 8:28; That God promises to use every single event in our lives to bring about good.  Corrie ten Boom’s poem, “The Master Weaver’s Plan.” “Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow; / And I in foolish pride / Forget He sees the upper / And I the underside.” It serves as an effective illustration for the truth that for now we get to see only the underside of all God is weaving together in this world, while clinging to the promise that someday we will see the upper side and marvel at what He has been doing. My Daddy, Eston Willis, had this poem in his Scofield Bible when he went home to be with Jesus in 1989.

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Just as someday, we will see the beautiful tapestry God has been weaving through our suffering, through the events we never would have chosen, in the same way we will see the tapestry this Master Weaver has been creating through those good deeds. Someday, God will show us His tapestry, we will see how God has woven each of these little deeds together for our good, and His own glory, and we will rejoice.

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While you’re going through life and trying to make sure you fix all the little pieces of your life, understand this: that there is over and in, above and below your life a divine architect ordering every detail. And if you belong to Him and are in the covenant of His love, He is accomplishing His perfect will. And you can rest in that, you can rest in that.

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Heavenly Father, we are so encouraged by the amazing story of Esther. We are so thankful that You are the same God today that You were then. That all things are being worked together by Your power for our good and Your eternal glory for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. We thank You that we don’t live in a world of random events, but that our steps are ordered by the Lord. That You have a plan that is working out for us in every single detail that fits into Your sovereign purpose. How wonderful to know that and it is inevitably leading us to glory, to heaven. Thank You for this great revelation that takes all the fear and doubt and questioning out of life, and we live and rest in peace in Your sovereign providence. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”

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Look Up—meditate on Ephesians 2:10 …pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

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Look In—as you meditate on Ephesians 2:10 …pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

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Look Out—as you meditate on Ephesians 2:10 …pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.